Fate, or destiny, is an overused word. Discussed excessively in literature and philosophy. Questioned, defied, or embraced by countless fictional and actual individuals.
Fate is a topic I personally find simultaneously banal yet fascinating. To what extent do people have control over the outcomes in their lives? Undeniably, there are certain forces that are simply beyond our control, but where do we draw the line drawn between actions produced by free well and actions dictated by fate?
Classical Western tragedies (Greek, Shakespearean...) pose questions regarding fate in practically every story. Characters are told prophecies, the audience witnesses scenes of epic foreshadowing, and the name of a play, typically the same as that of the protagonist, already provides a spoiler. Antigone, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear... if their name is in the title, they're gonna die.
However, we don't know exactly what's going to happen with the plot of Final Fantasy VII Remake. There are. So many. Questions.
Let's begin with two assumptions:
- Everything that occurs in the plot of original Final Fantasy VII can be seen as "what is meant to happen" as determined by fate.
- Whispers are manifestations of the Lifestream, the planet's life energy, that control fate and influence the course of events in the Remake.
In the original game, Aerith dies, Sephiroth summons Meteor, Cloud and company defeat Sephiroth and save the world. Let's not discuss Advent Children or Dirge of Cerberus.
And even before the events of FFVII, we have Crisis Core, in which Zack and the Soldier trinity of Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth endure sad times. Zack also dies.
But at the end of Final Fantasy VII Remake, the player kills the Whisper Harbinger, which we can assume is the source of all the Whispers that serve as "arbiters of fate." Throughout the Remake, these Whispers attempt to ensure that the events of the game line up with the plot of the original FFVII.
Supposedly, this is why they don't allow Aerith to stay around too long when she first meets Cloud. This is why they don't allow Hojo to tell Cloud that he's actually a Sephiroth clone. There are numerous examples of the characters' words and actions deviating from the original game's script, but the Whispers, as the planet's and fate's agents, prevent the plot from deviating too far from the original story.
This still doesn't explain things very well. There are too many plot holes and arbitrary occurrences when Whispers show up without clear reason. If their role is to make sure the Remake's plot stays the same as the original's, then they really suck at their job.
Final Fantasy VII's plot should be more complicated, is what no one ever said.
Speculation. It appears that Sephiroth wishes to challenge fate, or destroy it rather, and then absorb its powers (which is kind of his thing). The Whispers have little to no influence over him (since he's too cool and powerful), and after Cloud and the gang defeat the Whisper Harbinger, Sephiroth appears and seems to absorb its life energy. Maybe that's what happens.
Sephiroth also suggests that he desires to save the planet and prevent the inevitable end of its existence. He asks Cloud to join him in defying fate. Cloud says no (of course). Sephiroth is pretty crazy, after all.
Earlier, Sephiroth also stabs Barret, an event that never occurs in the original game. In fact, a lot of things in the Remake don't happen in the original game. More evidence that the Whispers are are bad at their job. At least the Whispers heal Barret and make sure he doesn't die.
Barret isn't allowed to die; this is not his fate, as decided by the course of events in the original game. But, according to "Whisper logic," certain characters (Biggs, Jessie, Wedge, President Shinra) -have to die.- That is their fate.
Therefore, Aerith will have to die. Again.
How does fate, or the planet rather, decide who should die and who shouldn't? Why would the planet want Aerith to die when she is the one most responsible for saving it? Just to maintain the same course of events? Makes no sense.
However, the Whispers are gone now. The Whisper Harbinger, an entity that represents fate itself, has been destroyed.
In the Remake's ending, we see in what appears to be an alternate timeline, Zack survives his confrontation with the Shinra army. Cool, but what does this mean?
Different timelines. Fate mumbo jumbo. I'm getting Kingdom Hearts flashbacks. What's wrong with Tetsuya Nomura, or whoever in Square Enix is/are responsible for this nonsense?
Whenever people discuss fate, ultimately more questions remain. The proof lies in the second paragraph of this essay. A common conclusion is that fate simply does not exist. Then less thinking is necessary. But Square Enix just -had- to include fate as a major plot element in FFVII Remake's revised story. Or did they?
Now that fate is no longer in control, how will the FFVII Remake's story end? How much will stay the same, how much will be different?
Was there any point to include the Whispers, or such a heavy emphasis on fate, in the Remake?
Leading up to FFVII Remake's release, my greatest concern was the possibility of Square Enix making too many changes that would ruin the story. However, I see a lot of potential for alternate endings and player choices impacting the plot, similar to Mass Effect, in the future episodes of the FFVII Remake, now that fate is out of the equation. Imagine if we can prevent Aerith's death. Wishful thinking on my part.
Recently, Yoshinori Kitase, the original director of Final Fantasy VII and producer of FFVII Remake, stated that they will not be changing FFVII's plot significantly, at least going forward.
According to him, the story will be more or less the same.
So, yeah. We'll see what happens. We'll see how long it takes for Square Enix to completely finish the FFVII Remake. Estimates range between 10-15 years, if Final Fantasy XV or Kingdom Hearts III are any indication. 5 years passed between FFVII Remake's reveal trailer at E3 2015 and its release. The original game came out in 1997.
That's a long time to wait.
